Yes, this is the only movie coming out this week. Who would have thought all of Hollywood is afraid of taking on a group of kids and a lion with a Jesus complex?
The Pevensie kids are back, but they don’t know what they are in for in this sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. These Kings and Queens of Narnia have been summoned back to that magical place, but it’s almost a thousand years later and Narnia has been over run by the warmongering, power hungry Telmarines. The evil King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) has driven all of the Narnians into hiding, some of the talking animals can’t even talk anymore(!), and he has decided to eliminate his nephew Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), even though the young man is a rightful heir to the crown (this is like the Soprano family!). Now, Prince Caspian wants to join forces with Old Narnia and the Pevensies to end this war before it is too late (maybe he can run on the platform of “change” like Barack Obama, that seems to be working out for him). Can they defeat the treacherous King Miraz, even though they are badly outnumbered and woefully under armed? Walking out of Prince Caspian, I overheard one of the audience members talking about how the movie was cute. CUTE?!?!?! CUTE!?!?!? Whatever you think of Prince Caspian, cute is not one of the adjectives that applies here. While it is rated PG, this sequel is much darker, dangerous, action packed and violent than the first, and more deserving of a PG-13, but I think we are better prepared for it. Mr. Tumnus and his creepy leering at the little girl have been locked up by Dateline NBC, director Andrew Adamson and his co-writers have added a great deal more humor to the film to relieve some of the tense moments, and all of the marketing has pointed to this being a big action movie, so we all know what we are in for. However, what The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian lacks is more intrigue. It’s a plodding, overly simple movie that goes from fight scene to battle scene to horse chase scene and so on and so forth, without pausing for much story development and explanation. Adamson and the team blow through the most thrilling and exciting plot twists like Dale Earnhart Jr. would blow through a yellow light on Main Street, and miss an opportunity to add some complexity to the movie that it lacks. And, while we’re at it, the movie’s biggest star - and fans of the books know who I am talking about – looks fake in all of his CGI glory. This is more like his CGI-glad-to-eek-out-a-C-and-pass-this-semester-ness The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian lacks the kind of rich details and memorable dialogue that would elevate it to amazing status, but the action is good, fans will be happy to see their heroes back on big screen again and actors Warwick Davis and Peter Dinklage create new characters that are welcome additions to the world of Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is rated PG for epic battle action and violence.
